Brown's 3 TDs spark Mustangs' rout of Reedley

STOCKTON - T.J. Brown, who sat out last season because of academic shortcomings, caught three touchdown passes from backup quarterback Jeremy Mata on Saturday as Delta College routed Reedley 52-6.

Richard T. Estrada

STOCKTON - T.J. Brown, who sat out last season because of academic shortcomings, caught three touchdown passes from backup quarterback Jeremy Mata on Saturday as Delta College routed Reedley 52-6.

It was the home opener for the Mustangs (1-1), who struggled offensively until Mata entered late in the first quarter. The freshman from Granada High in Livermore scored on a 9-yard keeper for a 10-0 lead, then teamed with Brown to exploit Reedley's struggling secondary.

"We had seen on film where Reedley had some breakdowns in coverage, and with the fast tempo that we play at, we felt we could take advantage of those," said Brown, who caught six passes for 195 yards.

Mata flicked a pass to Brown just a few yards beyond the line of scrimmage, then Brown shed a defender and outran the rest of the defense down the left sideline for his first of two 73-yard touchdown plays.

Minutes later, after back-to-back sacks by LeeAndre Fisher and Nathan DiDonato had forced Reedley to punt the ball, Mata and Brown hooked up again. This time Brown got behind the safety, and Mata lofted a long pass down the right side.

Brown slowed slightly, otherwise he would have outrun the ball, and caught the pass over the outstretched hands of the defender. He turned and raced the final 40 yards for a 24-0 lead.

Brown, who played for the Mustangs in 2011 and is the grandson of former Oakland Raider tight end Raymond Chester, added a 34-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter to push Delta's lead to 45-6.

Cody Weinzheimer started at quarterback for Delta, completing 6 of 12 for 50 yards, but overthrew receivers on a few deep routes. Mata had no such trouble, hitting 10 of his 14 throws for 244 yards.

He was helped by running back Theo Wofford (18 carries 140 yards, two TDs), whose aggressiveness forced Reedley's linebackers to play close to the line.

"We've got three good quarterbacks, and that's a good situation to be in," said Barlow, who also gave a few snap to Bowe Merin (0 for 3). "That might worry some coaches, wondering which quarterback to use, but I see a lot of advantages there."

Weinzheimer completed only 23 of his 53 attempts in a season-opening, 32-17 loss to Chabot.

"Jeremy was helped by the rest of the offense, including the offensive line," said Barlow, explaining why Mata outperformed Delta's other passers. "As we lok at the film, I think we'll see that we had even more opportunities to cash in."

DiDonato, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound defensive linemen who prepped at Franklin High, spent much of the day hassling Reedley's quarterbacks. His performance featured six tackles for losses, including a crushing second-quarter sack and another in the third quarter that produced a fumble.

Teammate Denzel Hutchins recovered that ball, while Bobby Bivens' fourth-quarter interception gave Delta's defense two takeaways. Constant pressure in the backfield kept Reedley's two quarterback on the run, and they combined to throw for just 107 yards - a meager average of under 4 yards per pass attempt.